Genesis in Concert

Guest Author - Michelle Anne Cope

It was a Saturday night in Columbus, Ohio. That afternoon, Ohio State thumped Northwestern, 58 – 7. All was well in the land of the “Buckeyes”. The beautiful September day, a day that acted more like it belonged to July, had turned cool and breezy with an awesome sunset.

Sitting in the next to last row of the very tippy top of the Nationwide Arena in downtown Columbus, I waited. My skin tingled, my heart was happy and I kept tugging on my husband’s arm.

“Can you believe it? I mean we are here; we are here to see Genesis. I mean, right now, this very moment, they are back there somewhere, getting ready.” I always get giddy at concerts.

Jeff squeezed my hand and smiled. He loves me and my emotional attachment and excitement when it comes to music. Next to us sat our friends, Mike and Kerryl. We were a group of four with six pairs of binoculars.

We people watched, we adjusted the sites on our “nocs” and speculated on what we were about to see. Then, the lights went out and the first chord of an electric guitar rang through the arena. One very big computer screen on the stage lit up to show a map of the world that eventually morphed into a map of the United States ending in Ohio that moved in close to pinpoint Columbus!

Genesis was on stage!

Phil Collins, Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford, Chester Thompson, and Daryl Stuermer. Now, things started a little shaky for Phil, he forgot a word or two – maybe it was the crowd of older and expectant eyes watching him so intently, maybe it was the anxiety of performing in a town that on most Saturdays is mainly known for college football and script Ohio. Whatever the reason, Phil bounced back with a simple line after the song ended. “I’m going to do this once,” he said. He lifted his arms and yelled out “O – H”. The crowd went wild and replied with a screeching “I – O”. He became an honorary Buckeye!

The stage and light show were incredible and I lost count of how many times Mike Rutherford changed guitars. Phil interacted with the crowd by taking pictures and telling us antidotes here and there. Two drummers on stage – impressive, and Phil and Chester performed a twenty minute drum duet, tapping their sticks on everything from stools to speakers.

My favorites for the evening – “Land of Confusion”, “Domino (Part 1 & 2)”, “Home By the Sea”, and “Mama”.

“Mama” has never been one of my very favorite songs, but seeing it performed live and those incredible spooky crazy silly faces that Phil makes into a spotlight changed my mind. I will be honest and tell you that when I listen to Invisible Touch I usually only listen to the first few minutes of Domino before heading to the next track. Never again. Watching Genesis do it live with the light show was a mini concert. “Home by the Sea” came with a great introduction, lights and video. Did you know it was about a haunted house? I didn’t. And, oh yes, “Land of Confusion” complete with the puppets!!!

The crowd was made up with people, well, my age. You know, products of the late fifties and sixties. We were in junior high and high school when Genesis hit the airwaves. After the three hour show with encore, we got ready to leave and I noticed that the group behind us was made up of young men. Let’s say early twenties. Being high on football and Genesis rock, I struck up a conversation. “Can I ask you guys why you are here? I mean, did you enjoy the older stuff?”

“Oh yes, ma’am. We really had a good time. Our dad has all of their old albums and we listen to old music all the time.”

Old music? What ever happened to the term “classic rock” – sigh. Oh, and did he call me ma’am?

It was an incredible show and they gave us their time, talent and art. To me, it was worth every penny I paid for the ticket, including the pesky little service charge. You still have a chance to catch the last leg of the Genesis tour. Check out the link below for details.